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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27086713">Ties</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacewrites/pseuds/tacewrites'>tacewrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Post-Curse, as far as i know of it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 02:40:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,179</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27086713</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacewrites/pseuds/tacewrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The breath he was holding leaves him in a huff of frustration as he closes the laptop none too gently and glares down at it, giving up. He doesn’t even know why he was trying in the first place.</p><p>Never once has he worn his uniform tie to school. Why the hell would he start now?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>109</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ties</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I have no idea what this is. I feel like I was in the middle of writing it before I had any conscious thought to do it. Oh well!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He thinks he almost has it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kyo holds his breath, hoping it will help him focus as he bends to see his laptop screen. As he peers at the last step in the tutorial, he takes the end of the white fabric and, without looking, copies the motion shown and pushes it through the hole he’s made. He attempts to, at least; the fabric touches nothing but air and he tries again, but the same thing happens. When he looks down to find the hole, he realizes he must have fucked that step up completely because there isn’t one to be found. The breath he was holding leaves him in a huff of frustration as he closes the laptop none too gently and glares down at it, giving up. He doesn’t even know why he was trying in the first place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Never once has he worn his uniform tie to school. Why the hell would he start now?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A little knock at the door grabs his attention, saving the computer from his death glare as he turns to the sound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” he asks, tone sharp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kyo? Can I come in?” a muffled voice asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tohru. He’s suddenly not quite as irritated and stands a little straighter, eager as he replies, “Oh yeah, come in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door cracks open, but she doesn’t appear. “You’re decent?” she asks, voice clearer now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He chuckles at that. “Would I have said to come in if I wasn’t?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t know,” Tohru says hurriedly as she flings the door open and steps inside. “Maybe not before--I mean, I don’t know…” Her cheeks go pink, and she looks down at the floor and fiddles with the end of her school jacket as she mumbles, “I was just being polite.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The implication behind her unfinished thought is way too dangerous to focus on this early on a school morning, so he shoves wayward mental images of her finding him not-so-decent away before they can really play out and instead changes the subject. “Right,” he says, attempting to sound nonchalant and not quite succeeding when his voice cracks on the end of the word. He clears his throat before continuing. “So, what’s up? Did you need something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well...not technically,” she replies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She continues to stare at the floor and doesn’t respond immediately, but after a moment she stops fidgeting with the jacket and reaches back to pull the door closed as she looks up at him. There’s fondness in her gaze and no hesitation in her voice when she explains “I was impatient to see you. I guess that’s not really a need, but it kind of felt like one, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes. Yes, he knows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they finally got together, Kyo assumed that his days of longing for Tohru were over. It’s kind of true; longing, for the most part, is not a constant daily feeling. But it still happens. Sometimes when he’s at the dojo, sometimes when he’s sitting in class with her only a few feet away. Sometimes it’s when he’s alone in his room at night, and sleep evades him as he thinks about how many hours it will be until morning. And each time he thinks that maybe he’s being ridiculous, maybe he’s an idiot, maybe he has a problem...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>...but apparently, even if all those things are true, he isn’t alone. A comforting thought. And also one that makes him feel weightless, like he could fly if he tried. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His heart skips a beat, and then he feels it speed up in anticipation as he holds his arms out like an invitation. “C’mere, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes light up and she smiles as she crosses the room and in no time at all has her arms wrapped around his middle. There is no consequence to it, and he returns the gesture, marvelling, not for the first time, in the fact that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It isn’t something he ever thought would be possible or ever dreamed to even hope for, but it’s so easy now. She tucks into his chest and he breathes in deeply, as if he hadn’t done so in a while, and feels something in him ease when he lets it out. He’s not sure of the reason for it, but it’s a good feeling so he doesn’t spend time focusing on it. Instead, he gently squeezes her in his arms and then chuckles. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re so tiny.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulls back a little in his arms with an affronted gasp. “I am not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh huh,” he argues, and grins when she looks up at him with a pout. “You’re, like, the smallest person ever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s definitely not true,” she says as she blushes just a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Being able to tease her makes him feel giddy.  “I think it is,” he replies, voice sing-song.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” she starts, and then her eyes narrow as she tries to come up with a retort. “Maybe you’re just huge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughs. “Yeah, I am.” As evidence, he brings one arm up and flexes it with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pout on her face disappears. The muscles he trains so hard for by no means threaten to rip the seams of his jacket, but they are noticeable in this position, and Tohru </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>seem to notice. Her eyes are rounder now, and it fills him with satisfaction and maybe a bit of pride. Only for a moment though, because she suddenly bites her lip and blushes a little deeper, and he’s not sure what that fills him with, but it certainly wipes the smug grin off his own face and replaces it with something that feels dopey.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He swallows thickly and drops his arm, loosening his hold on her with the other and giving her the option of a little space that he really doesn’t want but somehow thinks it would be smart to have. Neither of them move, though, and he holds his breath and doesn’t speak, afraid of whatever might come out of his mouth if he does. Tohru doesn’t look up at him, electing to stare at his chest instead. She’s the first to break the silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, what’s this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh...what?” he asks as he self consciously shuffles back a little in the space her arms allow him to and purposefully does not look down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you...wearing a tie?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh. He leans back to stare down at the offensive thing. He forgot about it completely, but it’s still there, a messy half knot hanging from his neck, mocking him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was trying to,” he grumbles. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looks up and tilts her head, a lopsided grin on her face. “Want some help?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.” He shrugs in a way that suggests he’s letting her for her own benefit. He could do it better if he wanted to, this is just a fashion statement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It doesn’t phase her. With skilled hands, she undoes his sloppy job and starts over, and with what seems like very little effort, is able to make the damn thing look presentable fairly quickly. She then takes a couple of steps back to survey her work, her gaze appreciative as she looks him up and down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He remembers now why he wanted to wear his school tie in the first place. Why he dug it out of his sock drawer where he’d stuffed it immediately upon acquiring it from the school when he’d started there, dead set on never looking at it again. It was because he watched a movie with Tohru over the weekend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was kind of boring, so he doesn’t remember what it was called or what it was even about. The only thing he remembers is that Tohru made an offhand comment about the main man in it being handsome. When he asked, with only a small amount of what he considered to be well-concealed jealousy, why she thought so, her only explanation was “It’s the tie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Conclusion: Tohru thought ties were appealing. At least on that guy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks good,” she says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And on himself, apparently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shoves his hands in his pocket. “Thanks,” he replies as he swings one of his feet back and forth. “You’re really good at it, I guess”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughs. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> in this house has to be.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ouch, rude,” he retorts, crossing his arms in mock offense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might be worse than Yuki is,” she teases.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His jaw drops; he doesn’t love the comparison, fair thought it may be. It feels like a pinprick to his ego. “Hey now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She notices his defensive tone and steps forward to placatingly reach out and touch his shoulder, but there’s still a teasing glint in her eyes and humor in her voice when she says “I mean that in a loving way!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knows that. Truthfully, the sting of her words didn’t even last; he’s already over it. But he feels like being stubborn just because she brought Yuki into it, so he huffs out an irritated “hmph” just for good measure. In response, she looks up at him so sweetly it makes him feel like he’s melting into goo, and he almost drops the act. But then he remembers he’s supposed to be mad so he huffs and his eyes dart away, unable to look at her without breaking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Kyo,” she giggles, “I was only teasing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stares at a spot on the wall, pretending he hasn’t already lost this non fight they’re having. And he knows she knows he isn’t really upset, because she giggles again, and is still smiling brightly, and he only knows that because he can just feel the warmth from it without even looking to see that it’s there. He feels his face heat up from her attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” she croons, and he feels her get closer still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s not prepared for it, and on instinct he no longer needs, he turns his head and very nearly takes a step back, but he doesn’t. Instead, he stays put and is surprised to find her even closer than expected as she goes up on her toes and kisses him softly, her chest barely touching his own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This is not the usual sort of apology she gives, and he feels his face heat up to an even higher degree at the press of her lips to his. He’s so taken aback he can’t even return the kiss, not that he has time. It’s over as soon as it begins as she falls back to the soles of her feet. Apology over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or it would be, if Kyo didn’t follow her down. Which he does. Of course he does, because kissing Tohru is way more important than nursing a comparatively small bruise to his ego. And he didn’t do it right, he wasn’t ready, dammit--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s only a second between each kiss, barely enough time for Tohru let out a small gasp of surprise before his lips meet hers again, but she doesn’t hesitate to kiss him back. And her lack of hesitation might cause him embarrassment for his own, but that gasp morphs into a bit of a groan as she does and he has no room in his head for anything other than that sound. It’s not one he’s accustomed to hearing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he sure would like to be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Experimentally, he angles his head to deepen the kiss, not exactly sure if what he’s doing is right, but when Tohru’s hands slide into his hair he has the vague, hazy thought that it’s at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Then there’s pressure as she winds her fingers into it, pulling a little, and thoughts of technique or anything else remotely close to coherent disappear completely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> His hands go to her waist and he pulls her closer. Or she steps closer. Or it’s both, but either way they’re pressed together and there’s heat in all the places they’re touching. Kyo’s head is buzzing, and an involuntary whine is pulled from his throat as Tohru pulls a little harder, and it’s all so much and somehow not enough at the same time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kyo feels unsteady on his feet, and it suddenly feels vastly important for there to be a sturdy surface to keep them upright. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Walls are very sturdy, and somehow that’s where they wind up, with Tohru’s back pressed against one. She makes another sound as she collides with it, and for a moment he’s worried that he’s done something wrong and been terribly presumptuous, especially when she breaks away from him, panting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But all she says, in a voice that’s gorgeously breathless is “Sorry, can’t breathe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, shit,” he replies, and the huskiness in his own voice catches him off guard. He’s just as breathless as she is, and feeling too kiss-drunk to think of something more coherent than that. But he’s been completely thoughtless and crossed some line he’s not meant to cross, he feels sure, so he makes an effort to pull words from the haze as he gives a small shake of his head. “No, sorry...I didn’t mean--no, I, um...got carried away…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tohru giggles at his herculean efforts to produce a sentence and takes a deep, steadying breath as one of her hands slides from the back of his neck to his cheek. “Takes two, Kyo,” she says as she caresses it. “I wasn’t stopping you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Self deprecation is an ingrained habit, and one that’s hard to break. His gut instinct is to argue that, actually, she’s being way too gracious. This is entirely his fault. He wasn’t thinking, he wanted too much, and he’s not allowed to have this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except, he remembers with relief, that he is. His feelings are not one-sided; Tohru loves him just as much as he loves her, and maybe wants just as much as he wants. The thought is thrilling; god, does he </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They haven’t talked about that sort of stuff all that much yet, though, so he can’t be positive…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>...but then again, the way she looks back at him now, with pupils blown and smiling lips red from his own, makes him think she does. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s such an overwhelming thought, he suddenly feels unsteady on his feet again and grateful for the wall now. He takes her hand in his own and leans down to gently press his forehead to hers. Then, he simply closes his eyes and breathes in deep. Lets it out slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” she whispers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s such a non answer. But there’s too many feelings and not enough words to describe any of them. What else can he say? She lets out a breathy little laugh, and he feels it on his lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you,” she says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And there are no sweeter words than those. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love you too,” he answers, like it’s simple. Maybe it is. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because he can’t help himself, he kisses her again, just once, softly. There is no intent behind it this time, but still, when he moves to kiss her cheek, he gets distracted by how sweet she smells and does it again, and then leaves a trail of kisses down to her neck, where she smells even sweeter. Distantly, he thinks it’s probably her shampoo, but he finds it doesn’t really matter when her grip on him tightens as he kisses a certain spot. That only encourages him, as does the breathy whisper of his name that escapes her lips--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A knock on the door breaks the spell and they both startle as Yuki’s voice suddenly filters through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kyo, we have to leave for school soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Damn it, Yuki. “Why do you suddenly care if I’m in school or not?” he shoots back, staring daggers that the other can’t even see.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t particularly care if </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>are,” Yuki replies, his tone a dangerous calm. “But I have this suspicion you aren’t alone in there, and if you make Miss Honda late to school, I will kick your ass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kyo’s face goes red. The nerve of that guy, accusing him of something so ridiculously irresponsible! But he looks over at the clock on his dresser and, shit, yeah, it’s later than he realized, and he can’t argue that he was entirely aware of that. And he definitely can’t argue that Tohru isn’t here, he realizes with embarrassment. His lack of a reply makes that abundantly clear already. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While he’s drowning in mortification, Tohru offers his hand a reassuring squeeze. Her face is pink, but other than that, she seems not quite as bothered by being caught in such a suggestive situation as he is. Or maybe she’s just unaware. She pushes him gently back and then smooths out her school uniform, sliding her skirt back into place from where it had ridden up higher than it was supposed to be. The way that she peaks up at him through her lashes as she does makes him feel like he’s burning on the inside and alright, maybe she </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>aware. His tie is suddenly way too tight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tohru then casually strolls over to the door and opens it to find Yuki standing there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Yuki,” she greets, casual as anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His face indicates he wasn’t entirely prepared to see her, almost like he was really hoping she was somewhere else. His mouth opens to speak, but nothing comes out, and his cheeks go pink as he looks at the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Morning,” he finally mumbles, and he must be feeling awkward because he doesn’t even bother to send Kyo a threatening glare before scurrying off back through the hallway and down the stairs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Serves him right for sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After watching him go, Tohru turns to smile back at him. “We should head down too and grab some breakfast.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He clears his throat. “Alright,” he replies as he crosses the room to where she stands in the doorway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looks past him then, back into the room to where they had just been standing. “And,” she continues as she turns back to him, expression mixed with determination and something else he can’t identify, “we should really try that wall thing again, later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His heart stops completely as his eyes go wide. “Alright,” he says again, except this time it’s more of a squeak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s an intriguing glint in her eyes as she smiles at him again before turning to skip down the hallway. It’s such an innocent action that he almost can’t believe the less than innocent words that came out of her mouth weren’t just his imagination. But he doesn’t think he could have ever imagined that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s suddenly imperative the tie come off. Hurriedly, he undoes it and chucks it back into the room. Then, feeling sort of like he’s floating, he follows her down. They eat breakfast with a very quiet Yuki, walk to school, sit in class. And Kyo tries to listen, he really does. But he just keeps thinking about “later” and hoping that it comes soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And also that ties are the most dangerous thing a man could wear. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sometimes you have a whim and that whim is "these two dorks should kiss" and that's all you have to work with lol.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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